母親：お世話になった方たちに、暑中見舞い出したの？
娘：まだなの。明日書こうと思って…
母親：あなたは筆不精だから、心配しているのよ。
Fude-bushoo
Hahaoya: Osewa ni natta katatachi ni, shochuu mimai dashita no?
Musume: Mada nano. Ashita kakoo to omotte....
Hahaoya: Anata wa fude-bushoo dakara, shinpai shiteiru no yo.
Mother: Now that it's the hot season, have you written to the people who've been helping you, asking about their health?
Daughter: Not yet. I'm thinking of writing tomorrow... .
Mother: You worry me. the way you are such a bad correspondent.
* * *
Fude-bushoo refers to being a poor letter writer, a bad correspondent, not much of a letter writer. It's not that the person is bad at writing letters; they are just lazy with the pen, as itwere. Uchi no musume wa fude-bushoo de komaru (It's frustrating the way our daughter is so bad about corresponding).
The opposite expression is fude-mame (a good writer, correspondent). The first expression com- bines bushoo (laziness) with fude (literally, brush) ; the second combines mame na(diligent) with fude.
Watashi no chichi wa fude-mame de, musume no watashi wa fude-bushoo, komatta koto desu (My father is a diligent letter writer and I, his daughter, am a bad correspondent-not such a good combination).
My father always has paper and pen nearby. Whenever the need arises, he quickly sends off a thank-you note. He even writes me once a week! I'm lucky to get just one letter off in a month. The phone is so much easier, quicker, so much not a pain in the neck. You have to write the letter, put a stamp on the envelope, find a mailbox.... I sometimes even forget to mail letters I've written. They finally turn up several months later between the pages of some book ! Itsu kara, konna ni fude-bushoo ni natta no deshoo (When did I become such a bad letter writer)? I remember writing letters to my boyfriend in college right away. Fude-bushoo ni natta no wa, isogashisa no sei kamoshirenai (I've probably become a poor letter writer because I'm so busy now). While raising our daughters I certainly didn't have the extra time to devote to corresponding. Now that they're grown up, I've become busy with work! Since learning to use a word processor, writing letters hasn't been as much of a chore. But letters written with a word processor seem so official. I doubt the elderly people I write to approve.
A friend recently said: "Anata fude ga tatsu no ne.
Urayamashii (You're such a good writer. I'm jealous)." Fude ga tatsu refers to being skilled at writing. It has nothing to do with having good hand-writing. Still, I guess watashi ga fude-bushoo ni natta genin wa, ji ga beta na koto da to omou (the reason I'm a poor letter writer is that my handwriting is bad). If I was able to write with the flowing style of my father I think I would have become a great letter writer (watashi wa fude-mame ni natte ita kamoshirenai).
It's said that students these days don't write letters.
Instead they carry portable telephones! When their pager goes off they phone in. "You don't have to use paper. You don't waste natural resources," they say.
But hold on. If you only use the telephone and never write, you're bound to forget how to write well. Cause for worry I'd say.